News of the day from around the globe, Feb. 7

Chronicle News Services

Published
3:43 pm PST, Wednesday, February 7, 2018

1 Chlorine gas: France says the Syrian government likely used chlorine gas in its latest attacks on rebel-held areas. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Wednesday that “all indications show us today that the Syrian regime is using chlorine gas at the moment.” Damascus and its ally Russia have been pounding a besieged rebel-held area outside the capital for the past two days with air strikes, killing dozens of people. A U.N.-mandated investigator said this week his team is investigating whether bombs allegedly containing chlorine were used on two recent occasions.

2 Child soldiers: More than 300 child soldiers have been released by armed groups in South Sudan, the second-largest release since civil war began five years ago. The United Nations calls the ceremony for 87 girls and 224 boys the first step in a process that should see at least 700 child soldiers freed in the coming weeks. One 17-year-old who was abducted says he was told to shoot his mother but the gun jammed and she escaped. More than 19,000 children are thought to have been recruited by all sides since fighting broke out in 2013. The United Nations has released almost 2,000 child soldiers so far. Human rights groups say child recruitment continues.

3 Border opens: Egyptian officials say the country has opened its border with the Gaza Strip for the first time this year. The two officials said Wednesday the Rafah crossing point would operate for three days on a humanitarian basis. Thousands of Gaza residents are on travel lists — most of them medical patients, students and holders of residency permits of other countries. Only a few thousand will make it out in the time allotted. The announcement comes amid warnings of a health-care crisis in Gaza, home to 2 million people. Egypt has kept Rafah mostly closed since Hamas took over the territory in 2007.

4
Migrant protest: Thousands of African asylum seekers on Wednesday protested outside the Rwandan Embassy in Tel Aviv, calling on the African country not to cooperate with an Israeli plan to deport them. Israel has given thousands of migrants in the country until April 1 to accept an offer to leave for an unnamed African destination — widely known to be Rwanda, based on testimonies of people who have already left — in exchange for $3,500 and a plane ticket. Those who don’t leave face indefinite incarceration. The protesters said the plan would put them in danger and said the deportations were racist. Rwanda is one of Israel’s closest African allies. Israel has 40,000 migrants, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, who say they fled from danger at home. Both countries have poor human rights records.

5 Pipeline thefts: Fuel thieves in Mexico drilled 10,363 illegal taps into state-owned pipelines in 2017, or an average of about 28 illegal taps every day. The government-owned oil company Pemex reported Wednesday that illegal taps rose by about 50 percent, compared to the 6,873 found in 2016. Those are just the taps that have been found; many others are believed to be still drawing off gasoline or diesel that is sold illegally or through established gas stations. Last year, the government estimated the 2016 thefts cost Pemex about $1 billion a year. The thefts are carried out by drug gangs, and heavily armed criminal gangs. The fuel thefts were once largely confined to two or three states in Mexico, but have since spread across the country, including the suburbs of Mexico City.